Slater told the BBC that although the monkeys pressed the button, he had set the self-portraits up by framing them and setting the camera on a tripod.

But Wikimedia Foundation, the group behind the free information-sharing site, rejected Slater’s request because he didn’t take the photos. It said Thursday no one owned the copyright to the images, because under U.S. law, non-humans – the monkeys in this case – couldn’t have copyright.